Education & Pedagogy

In previous chapters, student teachers' views and the use of model-based instruction (MBI) were determined to be largely positive. But do these positive attitudes and the actual use of MBI continue after completing a teacher education program? Many novice teachers experience "washout" when the attitudes and instructional practices they acquired during their teacher education program are progressively eroded during their first years of teaching (Zeichner & Tabachnick, 1981). The purpose of this article is to describe the attitudes and use of MBI by graduates of the Georgia State University physical education teacher education (GSU PETE) program during their induction years, as well as to describe change agents and change agencies that may inhibit or contribute to those attitudes and instructional behaviors. (Contains 2 tables and 1 figure.)

Middle grades science teachers need professional support in practice as they implement new inquiry-based science. Professional development schools can provide this bottom-up support through connecting preservice and inservice teacher education programs in classroom practice. In this study, coteaching arrangements with secondary science education majors provided additional teachers in the classroom to support a materials-rich curriculum and the needed associated pedagogies. Science education majors provided needed assistance in troubleshooting difficulties with the new curriculum. They also provided needed content knowledge to support inquiry, along with creating moments and space for teachers to reflect on inquiry practice. Ongoing assistance by preservice teachers allowed inservice teachers to progress from logistical concerns in implementing kit curriculum to concerns regarding student learning and the supporting professional development.

This paper addresses the role of engineering PhD education and its relationship to innovation and technology, and the need to reconsider how we educate PhD engineers. Much of the effort on engineering education in the last two decades focused on undergraduate education with a few exceptions that relate to master degree programs. Doctoral education in engineering prepares the next generation faculty, researchers, and technology leaders and warrants our attention. Whilst current education has been largely responsible for technological advances, there is a need for a new model of engineering PhD education that prepares renaissance engineers. This paper focuses on the doctoral education and its role in the USA; however, the issues addressed are universal among the countries that offer PhD degrees in engineering. (Contains 3 tables and 28 notes.)

In "The Report of the AERA Panel on Research and Teacher Education," Cochran-Smith and Zeichner's (2005) review of studies in the field of teacher education revealed that many studies lacked theoretical and conceptual grounding. The author argues that Derrick Bell's (1980) interest convergence, a principle of critical race theory, can be used as an analytic, explanatory, and conceptual tool in the study and analyses of policies and practices in teacher education. In particular, the author outlines interest convergence as a tenet of critical race theory, conceptualizes some broad themes of "raced" interests in teacher education, applies the interest-convergence principle to teacher education, and introduces an evolving theory of disruptive movement in teacher education to fight against racism in teacher education policies and practices. (Contains 2 tables and 19 notes.)

Purpose: With the emergence of the knowledge economy, different countries are responding with changes within their tertiary education systems. Education is increasingly recognized as a cornerstone to the continued growth of a country but with the globalization of business is education becoming a commodity? Design/methodology/approach: This paper examines educational policies and their implementation within the UK and Canada. Findings: This paper finds that education in the UK has become a commercial product within the international arena, unlike Canada where tertiary education has remained a domestic pursuit. Originality/value: This paper engages in a controversy that questions whether the economic value to a nation of education is found only in the numbers of students or can be enlarged to include the results of the education for the students. (Contains 1 table and 1 note.)

Five years ago, the Cecil County Public Schools in Maryland embarked on an aggressive schedule to fully include all students with special needs in the regular education setting to be consistent with the most recent interpretation of "least restrictive environment." At the time, 59 percent of special education students were receiving their instruction in the regular education setting. By last December, 89 percent of students with individual education plans were fully participating in the regular classroom, being fully exposed with proper accommodations to the regular education curriculum. Translating percentages into numbers of students, 1,722 of Cecil County's 1,931 special education students were included in the regular education classroom during the past school year. In this article, the authors offer advice on what it takes from a system leadership perspective to make inclusion happen.

Post-school outcomes of students with disabilities continue to differ significantly from those of their peers without disabilities, in spite of federal special education regulations to address transition issues in IEPs. Transition-related research has identified practices associated with improving post-school outcomes. Yet, implementation of such practices and compliance with federal regulations remains somewhat sporadic. To improve implementation, we suggest strategies for improving transition-related teacher competencies through special education teacher education programs. This paper describes (a) approaches for including transition-related content; (b) transition-related teacher competencies; (c) components of teacher education curricula for targeting competency development; and (d) specific readings, class activities, and assignments for infusing transition-related content. Suggestions for future research are also offered. (Contains 7 tables.)

As P-12 education changes to meet the needs of children and federal and state regulations, teacher education must change to prepare candidates with knowledge and skills expected of today's educators. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and No Child Left Behind Act increased opportunities for students with disabilities to be educated within the general education classroom, thus increasing the accountability of general educators for the progress of these children. Today's general and special educators must develop skills as collaborative educators to educate children with disabilities. This article explores this collaborative relationship, discusses implications for change in teacher preparation, and describes one teacher education seminar designed to provide prospective general and special educators with opportunities to practice essential skills of collaboration. (Contains 5 figures and 3 tables.)

In this paper, we examine some modern myths of poverty and special education. Mythology has been a staple of curriculum for many years, particularly in the early grades. Students study mythology to understand historical societies, unearthing cultural values and mores communicated through fables. Not so benign are myths related to poverty and education, they perpetuate stereotypical thinking about special education and economically disadvantaged children. Mythology provides an ideal avenue by which teachers committed to social justice can begin to explore contemporary myths of poverty and education. We articulate three myths about special education and poverty herein, examining ways in which teachers can confront issues of equity through the study of contemporary mythology. Additionally, we suggest possible adaptations for teacher educators.

In this article, the author revisits a case study presented in "Arts Education Policy Review" 105(1) in September/October 2003. The author discusses Arts Collaborator's Incorporated's (ACI) efforts to educate the community about art and about arts opportunities in River City. Themes visited in the discussion are community development through the arts, and connecting economic development to education. Implications for the arts education community that the author draws from this discussion are (a) ACI has assets and connections that the arts education community may not have, (b) ACI uses its influence to teach and promote certain kinds of art, and (c) the arts education community needs to be aware of advocacy groups to maintain education standards and to fully use available opportunities. (Contains 4 notes.)

The Chinese Communist Party's Fifteenth Congress established Deng Xiaoping Theory as the guiding school of thought and propelled China's construction of socialist modernization into the 21st century. Comrade Deng Xiaoping's breakthroughs in the theory of economic construction have pushed research on the relationship between education and economic construction to new heights, stimulated academic contention in education economics circles, and inspired theoretical thought. Studies on the socialist market economy and educational reform and explorations on such subjects as the education industry, educational commodities, the education market, the operation of education, fairness and efficiency in education, and so forth have become hot topics in education economics circles and presented a situation in which "a hundred schools of thought contend." Opinions vary widely in education economics circles on whether education is an industry, and no consensus has been reached. (Contains 7 notes.)

This paper focuses on the relationships between higher education and the labour market in Serbia. In order to understand this relationship better, this paper will first provide a brief history of the country and the history of its higher education structures. The paper will then discuss higher education from post Second World War until the fall of communism, highlighting how tertiary education met the goal of preparing young people for life in a socialist economy. The second part of the paper will discuss higher education after the fall of communism, and will show how higher education is not inadequately preparing Serbian graduates for the needs not only of the free market, but the new global economy. (Contains 3 tables and 1 footnote.)

For over 30 years official disapproval of confessional approaches to religious education in community (formerly county) schools has been the norm. However such forms of religious education persist. Some arguments put forward in favour of non- confessional religious education are now shown to be weak. Confessional religious education is now thought (generally) to be appropriate in church schools. These facts raise the possibility of a return to confessional religious education in non-church schools. Non-confessionalism is founded on a contradiction: that education can proceed without "confessing" anything and is therefore inherently unstable. In fact many different types of "confessions" operate in religious education. Yet pressure continues to be put on Christian teachers to dismantle their confessional approach. This is unfair and an attempt is made to show that such teachers have much to offer the future of religious education in a society which contains many religions. (Contains 4 notes.)

This article examines several questions related to the faculty shortage in special education. Using California as a case, the authors address these questions: (1) What were the personal and professional characteristics of current special education faculty preparing special education credential and doctoral candidates?; (2) What were the anticipated needs for special education faculty, statewide, over the next five years?; (3) How many special education doctoral candidates were being prepared in California?; and (4) What solutions could be implemented to increase the number and diversity of special education faculty? Results suggest that the number of special education doctoral programs in California and across the nation should be increased, and enrollments within existing programs should be expanded. (Contains 1 table and 1 figure.)

This study accounts for the formation in England of the Business Education Council (BEC) in 1974, and its development and transitions into the Business and Technology Education Council (BTEC) in 1983, and Edexcel Foundation in 1996. The article outlines the background and response to the 1969 report from the Committee on Technician Courses and Examinations (the Haslegrave Report), paying attention to its conceptualisation of the notion of 'technician'. It is argued that this further entrenched the class-based ideological subtext that would continue to deny 'parity of esteem' to vocational education. The BEC/BTEC curriculum is characterised as one that, presenting a detour through a form of progressive vocationalism, transformed pedagogic practice in further education. By 1993, however, BTEC was, in practice, constrained by the National Council for Vocational Qualifications and its innovative role in curriculum development was lost.